


Care

by Leni



Series: The Kindness of Strangers [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: "A wave of pain assaulted him, shocking him out of sleep. "AKA: the one where Belle takes care of her new husband.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: alphabet / letter A

A wave of pain assaulted him, shocking him out of sleep. Rumpelstiltskin's eyes snapped open, hissing in a breath reflectively. Three hundred years might have helped him forget the ordeals attached to a shattered ankle, but even if unconscious he still put too much weight on it, while awake he knew not to make any noise.

Once, it would have only served to frighten a little boy whose only protection was a lame father. Now it was Belle he wanted to be strong for.

But Belle was a lighter sleeper than Bae had been.

"Oh, Rumple," she whispered, aware of what was wrong before he had to say a word. It wasn't the first time that she was pulled away from her dreams by a restless bed partner.

He steadied his voice. "I'm fine."

Her hand came to his arm, squeezed for an instant, and then the rustle beside him indicated that she was getting to her feet. "I'll bring some ice," she told him. "Do you want any medicine?"

Rumpelstiltskin preferred to have all his wits around him. "Just the ice."

There was the swish of fire as she lit a lamp, and Rumpelstiltskin got onto his back just in time to see the light disappear down the hallway. With Belle out of earshot, he pushed himself into a sitting position, cursing and whimpering as his ankle dragged across the mattress.

But it was worth the flash of relief on Belle's face when she found him leaning against the headboard.

"Feeling better?" she asked, hurrying over to the feet of the bed with a bowl and some towels draped over her arm. The lamp was left on the nightstand on his side, making him blink uneasily at the bright light. He glanced away, finding the sight of Belle considerably more pleasing. She had pulled a chair closer and sat down to wrap the ice in one of the towels. Blue eyes swept over him, and Rumpelstiltskin commanded his lungs to take long, easy breaths until the worried crease in her brow disappeared. When he tried a reassuring smile, though, Belle narrowed her eyes. "That bad?"

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, but bit his lip when the cool fabric touched his skin. The relief would take several seconds to sink in, and until then it was like dozens of needles had been driven into his ankle at once.

Belle winced in sympathy.

He would have let her place burning coals instead, if it meant she cared. "It will be fine, sweetheart," he told her, reaching out.

Her hand came to the encounter, her smaller fingers threading around his. The touch didn't last long, as the ice needed to be moved and then replaced, but the proof of her affection was her uncomplaining presence, her stubborn refusal to sleep in an adjacent room. 

_I don't deserve you,_ he thought.

But he had learned that putting such thoughts into words only distressed her. So instead he made sure to be smiling whenever she glanced up at him, and said nothing at all.

 

The End  
30/09/16


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